Apparently, around 70 percent of adults may experience impostorism (imposter syndrome) at some point in their life. When it comes to environmental and sustainable issues, I actually feel like a downright fraud! I don’t walk everywhere, I am not vegetarian and I definitely do not have green fingers.
But I do have a great respect and love for nature. I grew up in a region in South Africa called the The Klein Karoo. Its semi-desert climate and landscape has a harsh beauty that cannot be tamed. Instead, those calling it home knows in order to survive, you treat what it yields with the reverence it is due.
I suppose I still carry that reverence with me… especially when it comes to food waste. The less waste in my food bin; the better. Batch cooking not only saves time, but also cost on the electric bill. And coming up with recipes for my weekly £1.50 fruit and vegetable box from a well know supermarket, has been part of my 2023 New Year’s resolutions.
And imagine how great my delight when a group of service users joined in with our weekly OT batch cooking sessions, as part of their weight loss strategy!
This article, The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste - ScienceDirect with link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.04.020 outlines how being mindful of how we use food and reduce waste, can be valuable in our drive to be more environmentally sustainable.
As a result, I now not only focus on the service user’s skill in preparing a meal, but actively explore how they can reduce food waste and conserve energy (gas and electricity) as much as possible. And in process, save some money… (think cost of living!)
Maybe I’m not such a big fraud after all. But I acknowledge that there is still a lot of room for environmental sustainable growth in my clinical practice and in my personal life.
So I’ll settle for being a work in progress J
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